Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to internal combustion engine preheating devices and, in particular, to a new and useful device for heating the fluid which is circulated through an internal engine jacket.
The invention relates to an arrangement for introducing heat to the cooling water of a combustion engine, with a heating apparatus, which has a combustion chamber for gaseous or for liquid fuel, and with a heat exchange device, with which the heat generated by the heating apparatus can be transferred to the cooling water.
Engine-independent heating apparatus, with which the cooling water of combustion engines can be heated, are known. These heating apparatus were, until now, installed in places that were appropriate from the point of view of space requirement at a distance from the combustion engine in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle. They contain a combustion gas/water heat exchanger and are inserted in a suitable manner into the cooling water circulation of the combustion engine. These heating apparatus are constructionally rather elaborate.
Technical progress leads to combustion engines with ever-increasing degree of effectiveness, with the consequence that the dissipation heat of the combustion engine available for heating the motor vehicles becomes increasingly less. Further, in particular, in the case of motor vehicles primarily used for city driving or for short distance driving, a tendency to use smaller combustion engines can be observed, which, in particular, in cold weather or in stop-and-go traffic supply an insufficient amount of heat to heat the interior of motor vehicles comfortably. These points and increased demands by drivers, in particular with respect to reliable cold starts, rapidly clearing windows, and comfortable interior temperatures led to wide distribution of the demand for engine-independent heaters.